Pelosi Hedges on Timing of Bush-Era Tax Vote

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Friday said the House would vote this year on extending middle-class tax breaks, but she would not commit to a vote before the Nov. 2 congressional elections.

"The American middle class will have a tax cut," Pelosi said at her weekly press conference. "It will be done in this Congress."

While not ruling out a pre-election vote, the comments suggest a delay on the congressional vote until after the November midterm elections, where Democrats face steep losses in the House and possibly loss of one house of Congress.

Lower tax rates for all American taxpayers enacted under former President George W. Bush expire at the end of year.

The tax cut debate has flared among lawmakers during a fierce congressional election season focused on the sluggish economy and massive deficit.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday put off its own vote on extending the tax cuts until after the elections

Senate Democrats faced a potential Republican filibuster of their plan, plus unease among some Democratic lawmakers who worry that voting on extending the Bush tax cuts could hurt their re-election chances.